Author: SPRI Global

Monday November 12 saw the beginning of Morocco’s first National Conference on Social Protection (Assises Nationales de la Protection Sociale). Its aim was to address the the lack of effectiveness and efficiency of the 120 active social protection programs, and to give the large number of specialists and stakeholders in attendance a forum to discuss concrete recommendations for a major overhaul of social protection in Morocco.

SPRI Global director Chris de Neubourg addressed the plenary session of the meeting and also presented a study by SPRI fellows on mapping Morocco’s social protection system. The study, a collaboration with UNICEF Maroc on the formulation of an integrated vision for the reform of the social protection system and on child poverty, formed the basis for the discourse among the more than 600 participants during the two day session. The study report can now be accessed here.

Participants in the conference, whose work ended on Tuesday evening, called for the adoption of measures to address shortcomings and inconsistencies in social protection and improve social conditions throughout different social strata across the nation. Speakers shed light on the achievements of Morocco in the field of social protection but also examined the issues that must be addressed to improve national protection programs and the social conditions of its citizens.

This first conference on social protection initiated a public discourse between different national and international organizations, economic and social actors, civil society organizations and experts, with a view to developing an integrated and consistent vision of a social protection system that functions as an integral part of the new Moroccan model of development.

Find footage of the inaugural plenary sessions and other content relating to social protection on our YouTube channel.

The indicators used as proxies for capturing the level of poverty among children were contextualized and are specific to Burundi. The study is based on a national household database namely “L’Enquête sur les Conditions de Vies des Ménages” (ECVMB) 2013-2014. An additional analysis was conducted for children below 5 years on data collected by the World Food Programme in Burundi, which included more specific indicators on nutrition and health. Local stakeholders, namely statisticians from the national statistical institute (Institut de Statistiques et d’Etudes Economiques du Burundi), the University of Burundi and several ministries, were also trained to use the MODA methodology in order to conduct multidimensional poverty analysis.

We were happy to support UNICEF Lao PDR, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the National Institute for Economic Research, line ministries, and other national partners, in the design and implementation of a multidimensional study on child well-being in Lao PDR. This study uses the latest Lao Social Indicator Survey collected in 2017 (LSIS II) to analyse the situation of child well-being and multidimensional poverty in Laos, following up on a similar study conducted in 2014 and published in 2015, using a previous version of the Lao Social Indicator Survey (LSIS I).

Using UNICEF Innocenti’s Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) toolbox, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of child well-being at the national and sub-national levels. The research is intended to inform progress on children in Laos as a primary component of the country’s ambitions for human development, graduation from Least Developed Countries status, Sustainable Development Goals achievement and poverty reduction while leaving no one behind. We are happy to continue our work with UNICEF Lao and national partners to complete this study by the end of 2018, following our current study validation and capacity building workshops in Vientiane.

SPRI Global is proud to collaborate with the Department of Sociology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Employment Social Security Agency), Indonesia on our ongoing International Summer Course on Social Protection in the Changing Labour Market. The course will run until September 29 in Yogyakarta and is structured in four modules:

Social protection in a global context,

Demographic changes and employment,

Digital economy and young workers,

Current trends in the sociology of work.

SPRI Global designed and is currently teaching the first week of the course, with the schedule being as follows:

Day 1

What is poverty?

Equity & social inclusion

Risks facing individuals & households

Social protection – sustainable development goals, risk management

Social protection – myths and misconceptions

Assignments

Day 2

Social assistance & targeting

Simulation exercise on targeting social transfers

Mapping the Indonesian social protection system

Assignments

Day 3

Multidimensional poverty

Contributory social protection

Contributory social protection: The ASEAN & Indonesian context

Social protection for the informal sector

Assignments

Day 4

Institutional framework of social protection: Integrated models, single registry

SPRI Global recently participated in Economic Policy Research Centre’s #EndChildPoverty18 conference in Kampala, Uganda, presenting research and exchanging knowledge on what works for Africas’s poorest children.

While there has been substantial progress in reducing global poverty in recent years, hundreds of millions of vulnerable children remain trapped in extreme poverty. This is especially the case on the African continent, where children account for the majority and growing proportion of the population. Despite rapid economic growth in several African countries, as well as significant achievements in both development and humanitarian interventions, a staggering number of African children remain vulnerable to extreme levels of deprivation.

Existing challenges notwithstanding, a number of carefully crafted and effectively implemented social policies and programs proved successful in alleviating the burden of child poverty and deprivation. In addition to being vitally important in promoting and protecting children’s rights, these social policies and programs embody the international community’s commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring no one is left behind.

This conference aims to contribute to global efforts to end child poverty by generating key insight on practical actions, programs and social policy interventions that have made a tangible difference in the lives of Africa’s poorest children.

For more information please visit Uganda’s Children Portal for information and studies on children and child poverty: bit.ly/2NnZc9S

Looking at SDG4 ‘Quality Education’ through the eyes of a child: Thank you Nika for sharing your video and reminding us that education is a fundamental human right, and that achieving inclusive and quality education for all is indispensable for the achievement of sustainable development.

This is a message from Nika about her video:

“I’m Nika Keovilay and I’m a thirteen year-old girl who is half Ukranian, half Lao. I live in Vientiane, Laos, which is a beautiful, small country with a unique culture and history. I am currently studying at a bilingual school and I’ll be attending Grade Seven this coming semester.

I created this video as I felt lucky to be able to attend a school and get a proper education. I wish for the same for all Lao children and for all the children in this world. I believe all children should learn new things, enjoy school and be able to have a chance to achieve their dreams. Children must be able to dream who they want to be and more improtantly, be able to accomplish it.

In line with the global development agenda and its recognition of child poverty as a unique condition with its own set of considerations, the Cambodian Government has recognized that child poverty analysis is an important tool for evaluating the impact of its poverty agenda. Using a child lens to assess the challenges of poverty reduction offers key insight into the nature of poverty in Cambodia – who the poor are, why their poverty persists, and how poverty is intergenerationally transmitted. Understanding the current context of child poverty and establishing baselines to assess progress is indispensable to achieving the 2030 SDG targets.

In support of UNICEF Cambodia, we studied child poverty in Cambodia through both the multidimensional and monetary perspective, which supports a more precise measurement and a better understanding of the situation of children in Cambodia. Where the monetary poverty measurement focuses on assessing the average financial means children’s households have available, multidimensional poverty measurement determines whether children’s basic needs are being met independent of income. The separate analysis of these two concepts of poverty allow for a more complete picture of the reality of Cambodian children, and for the identification of the most vulnerable subgroups of children that require specialized policy and programming.

The analysis was conducted using 2014 government data: the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (CSES) for monetary poverty and the Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) for the multidimensional component.

The Republic of Guinea has committed to achieving target 1.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations member states, to reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions (according to national definitions).

Multidimensional child poverty analysis is an essential tool to evaluate the impact of a government’s poverty agenda. We were happy to support UNICEF Guinea in a Child Poverty Study in Guinea using UNICEF Innocenti’s MODA (Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis) approach. Using their quantitative analysis skills, our team of researchers utilized raw and semi-raw MICS5 data, to inform the multidimensional deprivations faced by children in Guinea.

As part of this assignment, selected members of the Institut National de la Statistique and of the Laboratoire d’Analyses Socio-anthropologiques de Guinée were trained in the conceptual approach adopted for child poverty (including multidimensional poverty analysis) measurement and guided to apply these concepts for the calculation of child poverty related statistics and their analysis for Guinea. The results of this analysis will also allow for update of the country’s SitAn (Situation Analysis), previously realized by SPRI members. Learn about the study, its results and methodology by reading its accompanying summary report (French language) and infographic (French and English language), now available for full download.

Social Protection in the Changing Labour Market

SPRI Global is proud to collaborate with the Department of Sociology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Employment Social Security Agency), Indonesia in organizing the International Summer Course on Social Protection in the Changing Labour Market. The course will be held this year from September 17-28 in Yogyakarta – an Indonesian city known for its rich local culture. The course is free of charge, but our total capacity for participants is limited, and participants will be selected from different countries.
Recent developments on issues related to employment and social protection have uncovered new knowledge and policy gaps in many countries around the world. Demographic changes, disruptive technology, neoliberal economic pressure and wider inequalities are just some the factors creating these gaps. In response, we are contributing to the global knowledge exchange and discourse on these issues by organizing an international summer course on “Social Protection in the Changing Labour Market”.

The course is structured in four modules:

Social protection in a global context,

Demographic changes and employment,

Digital economy and young workers,

Current trends in the sociology of work.

Should you apply?

You are welcome to apply if you are a

Final year undergraduate student in the social sciences

Master level student or early phase doctoral student

Development professional specializing in social protection and employment

We expect to have a maximum of 40 participants.

Lecturers

All sessions of this summer course will be designed and taught by the following researchers and consultants:

For the third successive year, UNICEF’s three Regional Offices covering Africa have come together and collected studies and reports that are being produced on the continent, representing the collective knowledge supported by UNICEF in 2018.

SPRI Global had the great pleasure of partnering with UNICEF on seven of the 131 most important reports and studies that UNICEF and its partners are generating on the situation of children and young people on the continent.

The 2018 Catalogue features the following of our joint projects – the entry for each study or report includes a short description, as well as information on the authors and contributors, planned publication date, and contact details for obtaining additional information:

In addition, we are also currently partnering with UNICEF on Multidimensional Child Deprivation in Ethiopia: First National Estimates, which is due for launch in the latter half of 2018.

The availability of knowledge and evidence is crucial for informing policies and programmes to ensure they have an impact on children and contribute to the realization of children’s rights. The aim of the Catalogue is to provide timely information on the knowledge UNICEF and partners are generating in Africa, and to introduce publications that are a helpful resource for evidence-based decision making and programming.